"Lord Kuchiki-Sama," Elder Mito began in an unhurried, business tone, "some rumors have come to my attention about Rukia-Sama." She paused to select a slice of fruit from a platter.
After the proper greetings were dispensed with and the mundanities of hospitality extended to be accepted or declined, Byakuya was not disappointed when the Elder Lady got to the reason he was here. He's always appreciated Mito-Sama's sense of brevity.
"Rumors?" Byakuya asked evenly. He wasn't surprised when a page, a young girl in service to Mito-Sama's household, brought a message to his breakfast table, respectfully requesting an audience with him in the gardens south of her estates for a light brunch. After that fiasco of a meeting the day before, Byakuya knew he would be having these sequestered rendezvous between members of the nobility. The Elders would get to him first, as they were directly involved as events unfolded.
Captains didn't get days off, but that doesn't mean their presence is necessary at the barracks or the training grounds at all times. A lieutenant or a third seat officer can handle the paperwork or the training of recruits. To keep up with the responsibilities that came with the positions of head of the clan and captain of the Gotei 13, Byakuya often delegated any duty that didn't require his attention to Renji Abarai. From there, his lieutenant will assign duties to the appropriate shinigami to carry out the work to the letter. Thanks to this system of regulation, Byakuya can accept the invite to brunch from Mito-Sama in her south gardens instead of being at his office this morning. For anything major, he could be reached via hell-butterfly.
"Surely, you've heard already as a captain of the Gotei 13." The older woman tsks disapprovingly, "Let's not play this game of whispers, Byakuya-Sama." She said, respectfully. "We both have schedules to maintain this day, and this is faster than a correspondence and safer. If we may speak in candor, my Lord? Or should I fear being punched in the face for my honesty?" The older woman asked, quirking a shapely eyebrow.
Byakuya gave her a sharp look at her light reference to the incident between him and Kaito. It felt like a lifetime had passed since his temper ruled him, and he acted rashly—and not only yesterday. He felt uncomfortable at the casual reference but endeavored to wear his customary stoic mask of indifference. "There's a difference between candor and blatant disrespect."
"He had incautiously crossed a line." Mito admitted, "And now his assessment of Rukia-Sama's dexterity is unfounded, though she's not of rank." She added.
"Rukia is a proud shinigami," Byakuya said, pinching a thin slice of pink salmon with his chopsticks after dipping it in the dark spicy sauce and bringing the morsel to his lips. The taste is exquisite. "Having others underestimate her skills is a credit to her character. She need not boast about them, nor will she need to speak when they're displayed at a moment of truth. What good is a rank?" He expressed sagely after swallowing.
"Be that as it may, my Lord Kuchiki-Sama," Mito said, pausing with cup halfway to lip. "A company of high-classification hollows is nothing to sneeze at. Even for a captain of the Gotei 13, that would have been challenging. Yet our Lady-to-be," the matron empathized, "annihilated the entire incursion on her own, with her Captain coming in at the last minute to kill one of the Menos Grande, if the reports are to be believed. Honestly, I am impressed, and it's no small feat to impress me."
Byakuya fought to keep from reacting to her transient mention of him marrying Rukia as if it were a foregone conclusion. He gave her a patient look before saying, "I would be careful of prognostications, Elder Mito." Byakuya told the older woman before taking a sip from his glass. Do they have any idea how offensive he found the notion of thinking of himself as a husband to his sister? They may not view this as an issue of decency, but he did. It didn't matter whether Rukia was not blood-related to him; it was a matter of decency, by all that is right under the sun.
This is wrong. This entire situation is immoral. Why can't they see that?
"Prophesying? Hardly." The Elder said with a soft chuckle. "It's a simple matter of elimination if one has the wit to see all of the pieces at play," Mito said, shaking her head, a slow smile forming on her unwrinkled lips. Byakuya felt a prickle of apprehension as he watched that smile disappear as soon as it emerged.
What does she know that I do not? Was the thought that sprang immediately to the front of his mind.
"I admit," Mito continued when Byakuya failed to add anything to the conversation, "I was not in favor of you marrying Rukia, an unseated officer with only her title as your sister to her name. After all, unseated officers are the reserves in a battle, not the heroes who win the day. But some mountains are best viewed from a distance."
"And what do you mean by that?" Byakuya asked, trying to sound unperturbed.
"It came to light recently just why the younger sibling of the Kuchiki Main Branch is still without a rank in the Gotei 13." Mito paused with raised eyebrows. "Came to light to me," she said pointedly. "I must admit I had no interest in the girl before yesterday, and I was flabbergasted when Ginrei-sama advocated the match."
Grandfather is pushing for this! Byakuya fumed quietly, feeling as if his mask was about to crack from the heat of his indignation.
Mito continued, blissfully ignorant of the state of her young Lord, "But her battle records are outstanding, almost as storied as yours. No other noblewoman can boast about defeating Arrancars or Espadas, or even that they've been to the World of the Living in recent memory. Rukia, by contrast, is quite versed in her travels. She's in the World of the Living right now, is she not? And not on assignment. How interesting?"
"Why would that be interesting?" Byakuya asked stoically after clearing his throat a little.
"Come now," Mito said coyly, "rumor has it that she has a lover living in the human world. Surely you've heard?" The older woman inquired inquisitively.
"I hear many things," Byakuya reposted coolly.
"Certainly you do, my Lord," Mito said, friendly enough. "A one Ichigo Kurosaki, her rescuer from the gallows, and your former opponent. He beat you in that fight; it was not a victory if my sources can be trusted, even after you pulled out all the stops in your arsenal. Quite a determined boy." Mito pursed her lips. "How do you feel about them being together?"
"Is this what you brought me here to discuss?" Byakuya asked flatly. Was she trying to anger him by bringing up that fight between him and that brat?
"What? No, of course not! I am curious about your opinion on the matter."
"There is no conclusive evidence of Rukia and Ichigo being lovers. And Rukia would never be so careless as to develop romantic feelings for a human. How absurd." The younger Kuchiki rebuked.
"Such confidence, my Lord Kuchiki-Sama." Mito smiled, "I see you've not only been meddling in her career, but you have your fingers in her love life as well. I doubt any man could look at Rukia, and you didn't hear about it within the hour. That's rather thought-provoking if one had too much time on their hands to contemplate such matters. Does she know you love her that much?" The Elder lady suddenly asked.
"What are you even talking about?" Byakuya asked after staring at the woman long enough to make anyone else uncomfortable. But Mito Kuchiki is an expert in this game, and no 'uncomfortable' stare, however long and searching, will make her relent.
"I suppose she wouldn't know. You've never been a man of words and little action in the category of the heart. And here, half of the nobility and the military class marked you down as her heartless, uncaring brother. What would they think if they knew that you've been stymieing her career to keep her out of the maw of danger on the battlefield?" Mito mused to herself. "Many on the outside are likely to believe you're exercising your cruelty or hatred towards Rukia. Yet that is not the case at all, is it? Well, it's shocking, though pleasing, to hear that you're not the monster fictionalized in many bedtime stories." She teased him lightly. "And this match is not the disaster I thought it would be. You do have feelings for Rukia, don't you, Byakuya-Sama?" Mito asked him outright.
Byakuya sighed softly. "Is that all you wanted to say to me? Why would I have romantic feelings for my sister, Mito-Sama? I fear you've been indulging in too much romantic poetry of late. Love and happiness are illusions. Transitory things. A man in my position cannot afford such distractions. Which is why I find this 'suggestion' by the council inadequate and upsetting."
"Are you saying that you've learned your lesson in matters of love from your previous marriage? If so, why are you not denying that you love Rukia, and not as a brother loves his sister? For as we both know, that's not true in the remotest sense." The older woman spoke, her tone blasé.
"You are out of line, Mito-Sama." Byakuya said sternly.
"Forgiveness, my Lord. My enthusiasm got the better of my judgment on the subject. Ideal speculation, you understand. I find it peculiar that throughout this conversation, you've not denied my gentle inquires about your feelings towards Rukia-Sama."
Gentle? More like an intense interrogation.
"What difference would my denial make if you've made up your mind regardless of what I say? I don't know how much clearer I can make this, but I am not marrying my sister to give this clan an heir. That's all you want. I will not alter our lives to give you what you want." Byakuya stated flatly. "The council needs to reconsider this decision because a marriage between Rukia and I will not happen." He said the last three words slowly to make his point.
"I don't believe you'll have a choice in the matter, my Lord Kuchiki-Sama," Mita said, matching his tone. "Gossip is already burning through the proper circles about your rather 'robust' rebuttal," Mito said diplomatically, "at yesterday's meeting to Kaito's uncouth arguments, and the council is uneasy, especially after the documentation of the injuries came out. I'm assuming you've read the Physica's extensive report." It was a statement, not a question.
Of course, he read Kaito's medical report this morning at breakfast. It made him awash with shame for losing control of his temper to such a degree that he damaged the foul-mouthed old bastard that much.
"It's a bit of a scandal," Mito confided with a giggle. "You, being the handsome young leader of the clan, fiercely defending Rukia-Sama's honor with fists and sword? It smacks of romance already—ripe for the starving poets who have been drooling for decades to write a piece on behalf of their Lord and now their new Lady. Tongues are wagging feverishly." She took up a piece of sushi and ate it delicately. "Of course, where there is happiness, bitter resentment lurks in the background. Let's just say most of the ladies of the nobility are not pleased with these developments."
"There are no developments," Byakuya said, wiping his mouth with a napkin, "because there will be no marriage."
"The elephant can hardly keep the company of rabbits." Mito quoted. "You've been without a wife for decades, despite the council's best efforts. No one has seemed to fit your impossible standards so far. But now that Rukia-Sama is at the age of maturity, there is no denying how compatible both of you are. Despite her origins, she's fair of face, with no scars or deformities, and delicate in form, if not femininity, despite her tutorship in that college." Mito sniffed. "You need a queen that matches your elephantine strides as this clan moves into the future. Rukia is that queen, both in the military class and the nobility, since you've raised her to the peerage. And let us not forget her expertise in her travels—not just to the World of the Living but to other worlds. How many noblewomen can claim that they've been to hell itself? None, I can assure you. Not even you can boast of that. She's a survivalist, and so are you. And we both know the only reason she is not of any rank is because of you. Does your lighter love know that you are the reason she's not an officer yet in the Gotei 13 despite her distinguished military career? I doubt that will go over well given Rukia-Sama's, uh, temperament." The older woman spoke delicately. "May I suggest appropriate gifts to smooth over ruffled feathers? Surely my Lord is an expert on what Lady Rukia likes." Mito said, hintingly.
Byakuya rose from the table in one smooth motion. "Thank you for the meal," he said respectfully, barely holding on to decorum in light of Mito's volley of suppositions. "If you will excuse me, I have other matters to attend to."
"You love her, I can tell." Mito said by way of response, "You love Rukia. I expected as much from your reactions yesterday to Kaito's words."
"I am not responsible for your expectations," Byakuya said before turning his back to her and walking away.
"Why are all men so stubborn?" His keen hearing picked up when he was several feet from the table.
Byakuya sighed. This is why attending the nobility is tedious, but he knew he couldn't put it off again after opting to veto all of his engagements the night before. Lest feathers got ruffled in the wrong quarters.
It's been only a day since the incidents with Kaito and the council and Rukia and the hollows, then Rukia disappearing to the World of the Living, yet to Byakuya, it feels like decades were passing at light speeds. So much is happening that it feels like he barely has control. His spies tell him about the stirrings happening in the Squad Eleven's barracks and how Captain Zaraki is researching somebody. Byakuya didn't like the sound of that at all. Unfortunately, his spy can't get close enough to the rangy captain due to his immense spiritual pressure. You know there is trouble when the loudest captain in the Gotei 13 gets quiet, and this is post his sister's battle.
Would Kenpachi Zaraki come after Rukia because of such a poultry battle? No, Rukia is too weak to tempt the war-like captain's palate.
Byakuya didn't want to brush it aside like it was nothing. He'd read better battle reports about Rukia against fiercer enemies, his pride soaring and swelling in his breast for her accomplishments on the battlefield. But Rukia is not such a warrior as to match the strength of any of the captains.
"Perhaps that will be the deciding factor, her prior victories." Byakuya thought out loud.
He was getting ready to perform a flash step in the direction of Squad Thirteen when a man wearing his grandfather's household colors gave him a polite bow at the entrance of the gardens and requested that his Lordship pray attend to Lord Ginrei-Sama by the rear pond on his estates. Of course, his grandfather wanted to speak with him, no doubt to hear from his grandson about this Rukia situation, which is turning out to be an acute pain in his backside.
Why did she have to engage those hollows on her own?
"So, my granddaughter is off-plane," Ginrei said as soon as Byakuya materialized on the pier behind him.
"So she is," Byakuya replied, coming closer to the older gentleman. His eyes narrowed at the old man's back suspiciously. His grandfather usually calls Rukia by her name, not by an affectionate nickname like 'granddaughter'. What is going on today?
Byakuya wasn't sure how to feel toward his grandfather at the moment. It's his doing why he was in this situation, facing these circumstances as they were because Ginrei advocated for him to marry Rukia. The safe side is to remain respectful and ignore his other feelings that were battling for supremacy within his spirit.
Remain respectful. Remain respectful. Remain respectful. Byakuya repeated in his head in the silence that stretched between him and his grandfather after they greeted each other. Ginrei was feeding the koi fish with pieces of bread.
Kuchiki Manor has a rear pond almost as big as this one. To put it more accurately, it's more like a small lake than a pond, with a circumference large enough to swallow the main house and deep enough to cover the three-story roof.
"I wonder what her captain was thinking by acting as he did. Sending her off to the World of the Living without prior notification to her family by way of hell butterfly, at the very least." Ginrei scoffed disapprovingly.
"I was about to ask him that myself before your messenger caught up to me," Byakuya told him.
"And did you enjoy your chat with Mito-Sama?" Ginrei suddenly asked, veering sharply from the subject.
"I don't know what to make of this morning's brunch," Byakuya admitted. "Why is the council so adamant about marrying me off to my sister? Has decency fled this world?" Byakuya asked a little more harshly than he intended.
"Mito-Sama is a shrewd woman," Ginrei said, choosing to ignore his grandson's irate tone. He kept flinging bread crumbs further from the pile-up of fish gathered below the pier's edge. "A beauty in her day; looking at her now, that day has not long passed. You should be careful of her, though."
"I am aware," Byakuya said easily after having to inhale a calm breath because of his little slip-up a moment ago.
"Have you given more thought to the idea of marriage to my granddaughter?" Ginrei asks, still looking at the feed frenzy he created.
Byakuya took another deep breath. "Grandfather, why do you keep referring to Rukia as your granddaughter? You've never referred to her like that before." He asked, not bothering to beat around the bush with the obvious.
"Well, because she is." The old man stated, shrugging noncommittally. He said it so casually, as if he were talking to the clan idiot.
"Ginrei-ojiisan-sama?" Byakuya said warningly.
"Byakuya?" Ginrei replied with the same warning tone without the honorific, "I hope you're taking this very seriously. An unranked soul reaper took out a company of high-level hollows by herself, something even a captain would find difficult to achieve unassisted. This is significant not only on the military purview but for the Kuchiki Clan also."
"Why is everyone making such a spectacle out of this battle? All Rukia did was act rashly, disobey orders from her captain, and almost get herself killed."
"And she did that because she was pissed as all thirteen hells," Ginrei said with uncharacteristic directness. Byakuya was used to his grandfather's classic equivocation techniques, so he was slightly taken off guard by his outburst. "The entire Seireitei is talking about the other Kuchiki sibling, and they're doing so because this battle took place on their home soil. Not in the World of the Living or on some alien world. You may think it's insignificant for others to make a fuss out of this battle between Rukia and the Hollows, but it's nothing to take lightly. People are looking at Rukia with admiration now. More noble eyes are turning in her direction. You should be careful of that. There are more dangerous people than just Kaito and that son of his."
"I am aware of that, grandfather, but she's had tougher opponents and done more remarkable things than just win against some hollows." Byakuya argues.
"She has, and little by little, those past achievements will be brought to light, if they're not already doing so." Ginrei stated patiently. "More and more, others will wonder why she's not an officer of the Gotei 13 yet, and sooner rather than later, your name will start making the rounds. It would seem you have not grasped the gravity of the situation developing. If you had, you would have understood why Mito-Sama was talking to you this morning."
Byakuya ran the tips of his slender fingers over the red-wood railing of the pier, stretching over the body of water for a quarter of a mile.
"She understands that when a woman gains leverage in power and status thereof, she also becomes a target for men with insecurities and prejudices towards their feminine counterparts or sees them as rites of conquest."
"Rukia is not someone to fall for flattery." Byakuya said tersely.
"Be that as it might be, one cannot ignore the rumors spreading furiously about her and that human boy. It sets a bad precedent in light of her recent success."
"There is no conclusive evidence," Byakuya said, beginning his opposing argument.
"Perception is reality, Byakuya." Ginrei lectured his grandson as if he'd exhausted this topic before. Byakuya promptly shut his mouth, his fingers gripping the railing. "In the past, many in the nobility, when they bothered to think of Rukia at all, did so in tones of disgust (the gutter rat Lord Kuchiki-Sama invited to the nobility). Now they cannot say those things. Scorn towards Rukia will not work in their favor, nor will it be sweet in the ears nearby to hear. In the absence of this, they will use charm and hatch their schemes to get their way in whatever distasteful packages they might come wrapped prettily in. But the females are more vicious and harder to spot, especially when they believe that something of theirs has been unfairly taken from them by someone they never suspected to be a threat. Lady Armandra of the Ghost Willow, for example, has been in quite a snit since yesterday's news of your betrothal spread like wildfire. You recall the 'lady,' " Ginrei demurred.
Byakuya paled. If annoyance could be wrapped up in pretty kimonos, painted lips, and too much face powder, it would be in the manifestation of Lady Armandra of the Ghost Willow. The woman was relentless in her pursuit of his attention.
Ginrei's voice took on a reminiscent pitch as he continued, "I suppose if the council had decided to give her over to you as your bride as they originally intended before arriving at the conclusion of Rukia, you would've committed Seppuku on the spot. I told them as much when they suggested it in our private discussions."
"Don't even jest about that!" Byakuya nearly shouted.
Him? In a political marriage with Armandra? Is the council actively searching for ways to madden me? The woman never shuts up! And she's never talking about anything of consequence. Just because someone is naturally quiet, that doesn't mean they want to listen to every word you say.
"Who's jesting?" Ginrei asked seriously. "Suddenly, Rukia is not such a bad prospect, is she?"
Byakuya stared at Ginrei with eyes as wide as soup bowls as realization hit him: "Oh, no! You-you wouldn't. No, I don't believe you would. You wouldn't!"
"Oh, wouldn't I? How sure are you about that, my grandson?" Two bushy eyebrows arch innocently in question. "I would say that I am past the point of 'wouldn't'." His grandfather said whimsically. "As of early this morning, Lady Armandra, along with her entire household, has been notified via hell-butterfly that if you do not marry Rukia Kuchiki within three months by some quirk of fate, then she will be the next Lady Kuchiki by default. I was told that the lady's elation was...uh...energetic, to put it in a savory term."
"I feel ill. Seven Hells! I'm going to be sick!" Byakuya said, clamping his hand over his mouth before promptly bracing his face over the railing and throwing up all that delicious food he had just eaten at Mito's estate. He retched over the red-wood railing a couple of times. This saved him from asking his grandfather, with adjectives he was certain were past candor and orbiting the realm of disrespectfully, if he'd lost his goddamn mind!
"That reaction tells a story, doesn't it?" Ginrei said, turning back to feed the koi fish. "Lady Armandra is quite comely under all that face powder. Aren't you being dramatic, my grandson?"
By the time he stopped retching and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, Byakuya had composed himself enough to snap through gritted teeth. "Dramatic?" he asks as he paces a little up and down the pier. "Dramatic!" The younger man repeated, disbelief galloping in his tone. Then he remembered something. "Comely?! Grandfather, do you think it was her countenance that inspired such a reaction? It's her personality that sickens me. I can't stand it. I can't stand her!" Byakuya said, taking deep, cleansing breaths, his mouth sour from his vomit. "What do you want from me? Why are you forcing this relationship between Rukia and I? And within three months? You want us to get married within such a short period? Why? Why are you going through all this trouble?"
"Great grandchildren and an heir for this clan; it is time." Ginrei spoke as if the truth were obvious.
That can never be the only reason. Byakuya thought, furious at his nonchalant attitude. "Do you not see how wrong this is?" The younger man protested. "How can I think about Rukia as a man does a wife when I've been caring for her as a sister? Do you believe it's so easy for me to switch my feelings? Do you see me as a scoundrel, grandfather?" Byakuya asked, scandalized.
"You only act brotherly towards Rukia because your late wife asked you to with her dying breath." Ginrei reposted, looking at his young charge kindly. "Had she asked you to marry her sister instead, in consideration of your loneliness in her absence...
"Hisana would have never asked me to do such a thing, and I would have viewed Rukia as a sister even if Hisanna had not asked me to." Byakuya sneered, cutting off his grandfather. "She became my sister from the moment I made Hisana my wife. What you and the council are asking of us is wrong. Everything about this situation is wrong!"
"If you feel so strongly against the idea, Ginrei said, turning around slowly to face Byakuya, "then you can think about Armandra as your wife. I'm sure— Oh dear! That is a spectacular shade of green." The old gentleman chuckled.
"This is amusing for you?" Byakuya said hotly.
"Rukia has no choice in the matter, just as you do not." Ginrei told him, deciding not to answer that question. "She will either marry her brother by marriage and the head of the clan or marry Kalon Kuchiki—the," his grandfather paused with pursed lips, searching his vocabulary for a diplomatic adjective—"son of Kaito Kuchiki," he finally said, coming up empty. "I'm certain she'll throw up at that prospect, too. You two are a lot alike."
"No," Byakuya said, pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes tightly.
"No?" Ginrei asked. All out of bread crumbs to feed the Koi.
"No! No! No! No to everything that you and the council want to do to me. No to Rukia and I marrying. No to me... marrying that woman! No to Rukia marrying Kalon Kuchiki; I would rather see her married to Ichigo Kurosaki — a boy! A human for a few decades rather than married to Kalon 'the Artifice' Kuchiki."
"Govern your words carefully." Ginrei did not speak above a whisper, yet his words carried weight enough to halt Byakuya's pacing and his little snit, though his chest heaved with heated breaths stoked by his anger.
"Do you have any idea how revolting I find this suggestion from the council? To be with Rukia, to lie with her, and produce an heir for the clan? The very thought grates against my morals; it mocks my standards as a member of the nobility. Now you produce this 'ultimatum' for me to marry a woman I cannot stand to breathe the same air with. That's hollow generosity, and you know it, grandfather."
"So you have been thinking about being with Rukia?" Ginrei asked, surprised.
Etiquette be damned. Byakuya scoffed and rolled his eyes, feeling like he wanted to tear at his hair. The young man let out a gusty sigh. "How else would I find it repulsive if I had not given it some thought? I'm not a lord to ignore the suggestions of his councils outright, grandfather. Especially ones made so aggressively." If it were anyone else but his grandfather, he wouldn't have divulged that information.
"I'd wager you didn't vomit while thinking about being intimate with my granddaughter, did you?" Ginrei said, a smile tugging at his mouth corner.
"Blast it to nine hells and back, grandfather!" Byakuya swore, causing his Ginrei brows to shoot up in shock. "I wasn't thinking about Rukia and I being—or engaging in—" He struggled, inhaling for a calm he could not feel. "You're impossible!" Byakuya didn't bother to bow as he flash-stepped out off the pier as fast as his legs could carry him. He would not have won this argument, and Byakuya would rather go through torture than admit that, especially in the presence of his grandfather, though they both knew the outcome of this meeting. So he did the only thing he could do: he beat a strategic retreat.
It took Byakuya two hours after speaking with his grandfather to arrive at Squad Thirteen's barracks. Out of courtesy and to not waste his time, he sent a hell-butterfly ahead of him to inform Captain Ukitake of his arrival. Byakuya wanted to believe that his grandfather was only jesting and that he didn't just doom him to a miserable existence with a woman that 'literally' inspired him to throw up, but Byakuya had to be certain. After beating a hasty retreat back to Kuchiki Manor, he sent a spy to Lady Armandra's household to ascertain whether the information Ginrei told him was true or false, and sure enough, the manor was abuzz with news of the impending nuptials of Lady Armandra to Lord Byakuya Kuchiki.
Byakuya has faced hordes of hollows. He's faced tough Espades, Arrancars, and even the minions of hell's armies that still gave him nightmares. He'd rather stare down a combination of all four, unarmed while powerless, wearing a Gigai, and naked, than marry Lady Armandra of the Ghost Willow!
What was my grandfather thinking?
He dismissed his spy with instructions that he was not to be disturbed for the next hour before removing his outer robes and falling backward into the well-made bed his servants had come in after he left and made up for him. With a plush-goose feather-stuffed pillow held over his face, Byakuya yelled invectives with all the air his lungs could purchase. He didn't count the minutes of how long he spent doing this. It was childish of him, he knew, and inert, true enough, but what else was he supposed to do? When every move he made could potentially be a mistake, or it could insult the wrong person, or bring shame down on his head and his house, or spark gossip and rumors, or be politically inconvenient, or, or...
"Thirteen hells!" Byakuya screamed curses into the pillow as he stomped down with his heels into the mattress, punching and elbowing the sheets. "Goddamnit!"
If anyone was watching him as he threw a silent fit alone in his bedroom, it must have been amusing to observe. To Byakuya, he just needed a moment to stop being the Lord of the Clan and release his frustrated yells into his pillow like a normal person before going back out to face his day.
"Captain Kuchiki," Captain Ukitake, greeted him amicably as he entered his office at Squad Thirteen. "How lovely to see you."
Byakuya doubted that, considering they both knew why he was there. It didn't take more than two flash steps for him to arrive at Squad Thirteen's barracks. Of course, because he sent the hell butterfly, they were expecting him, and he was ushered into the captain's office—sitting room? Lounge? and given oolong tea and rice cakes as a refreshment by the Co-third seat of the squad. Kiyone Kotetsu had a goofy smile on her face the whole time he was waiting for Captain Ukitake to arrive. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long.
"Thank you, Kiyone." Captain Ukitake said, dismissing the girl who gave him a cheery salute before making herself scarce.
"Why did you send Rukia to the World of the Living without assignment?" Byakuya spoke without preamble as soon as the door was closed.
"Straight to the point," Captain Ukitake mumbled as he sat down on folded legs on a cushion before his guest. "I," the man started long-windedly, "had no special reason to send her to the World of the Living. She just needed to go."
"What?" Byakuya asked, confused, "Are you saying that Rukia requested to leave for the World of the Living? If that is your answer, then..."
"I've not followed protocol?" Ukitake finished the sentence for him, which irritated the younger man. "She did not. What I said was that she needed to go. As my subordinate, I must pay attention to her needs."
That rubbed Byakuya the wrong way. "Like you paid attention yesterday before she ran into an unknown situation, captain? He nearly sneered, turning the last word into an insult.
"I had an incursion on my hands." Captain Ukitake said, attempting to sound reasonable, "One of my subordinates acted as a first response to the problem. And because I've 'paid' attention to my subordinates, I understand what they can and cannot handle on their own. Rukia is one of my best, and as you've read in the reports, she's surpassed mine and everyone else's expectations." The pride in Ukitake's voice was simultaneously pushing a thorn deep into Byakuya's side.
Byakuya was glad he took the time in his chambers to shout into his pillow because here was this man in front of him, gleefully telling him how he was proud of his decision to throw his sister at his hollow incursion. Who knows what he would say if he hadn't taken the time to compose himself?
"Don't get me wrong." Captain Ukitake said before Byakuya could throw his weight into the argument. "She did disobey a direct order both from me and her superior," Ukitake maintained sternly, "and I am not sure what could have 'inspired' such an unusual behavior in Rukia, who's always level-headed. Considering that she was coming from home, perhaps you care to enlighten me?" The man said boldly, bordering on discourteous, which is uncharacteristic of Captain Ukitake's personality.
"Excuse me?" The dark-haired captain said, biting down on the needle gnawing at his gut.
"As I've said, I pay attention to those under me and...
"It is none of your concern, Captain Ukitake," Byakuya said evenly.
"Is it not?" The white-haired captain shot back, his brown eyes flashing with anger: "I respectfully disagree. You come to my office with demands."
"I have the right," Byakuya interrupted his fellow captain, "to know what happened to Rukia because you failed to provide proper documentation before sending her without assignment to another world!" Byakuya said a spike of reiatsu unexpectedly getting out of his control, sending the cup of green tea wobbling.
"And why should I have?" Ukitake reposted, his dark brows knitting together. "You disappoint me, Byakuya," Ukitake said, using his name without honorifics.
"How dare you?" Byakuya spat through clenched teeth.
"No, how dare you, Captain Kuchiki?" Ukitake's tone was fiery. "You expect me to send documentation to the man who is responsible for Rukia's state in the first place? The reason she was so angry?"
"You speak of things you know nothing about," Byakuya said, barely in control of his temper.
"You want to force your sister into a marriage with you?" The look on the other captain's face was pure, unadulterated disgust as he said the words Byakuya didn't know he was dreading until he heard them. "The man who did nothing to prevent her execution or her imprisonment when he had the option to do so?" Each word cuts like a sword blow against Byakuya's skin.
"That is enough!"
Byakuya hates himself for that time in his and Rukia's lives more than anyone could measure. He regrets his inaction to save his sister and the role he played back then, unknowingly to the tune of Aizen's plot. He didn't need this man to remind him of his ineptitude as Rukia's brother. As the highest authority on himself, Byakuya is fully aware of how pathetic he was back then. But Ukitake would not relent.
"The man who would have killed her had it not been for the intervention of the substitute soul reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki, and even then he threatened to kill his sister with his own hands after he killed her rescuer, wants her to be his wife? From what I witnessed yesterday, I'd conclude that Rukia is not in favor of the idea. How sick can you get?" Ukitake said this with contempt and disgust in his large brown eyes. "You were supposed to be her guardian!"
"ENOUGH!"
A surge of spiritual pressure blanketed the Captain of Squad Thirteen's office seconds before the roof exploded off the structure. It took three seconds before the entire shingled cone landed in the pond just outside the rear verandah.
Ukitake was on his feet, though his sword hand was nowhere near the hilt. Byakuya was ready for anything at this point, and he was beyond caring. Of course, you don't blow off the roof of the captain's office in a barracks and not draw attention. Several of Squad Thirteen's soul reapers came rushing to the scene of the explosion with swords drawn, inquiring about the welfare of their captain in panicked, angry tones. Byakuya didn't even spare them a glance.
"It's alright," Captain Ukitake said, his palm outstretched toward the growing crowd. "Go back to your duties." However, the crowd was not satisfied with his explanation, or lack thereof.
"Captain Ukitake, what happened?" The other vulgar third seat Ukitake kept on hand, Sentarō Kotsubaki, asked over the din of the crowd.
"I'm alright," Captain Ukitake reassured his subordinates.
"How can you be alright when the roof is blown to seven hells?!" Sentarō boomed.
Byakuya felt many pairs of eyes on him, and he did not doubt that the crowd had no misgivings about exactly who was responsible for blowing off the roof. He kept his gaze trained on Captain Ukitake even as he raised his spiritual pressure once more, letting it rain reiatsu around them. Captain Ukitake gave him a sharp look.
"Leave. Now." Byakuya spoke to the crowd a second before he stopped exerting his spiritual pressure on the lot of them. In another five seconds, those who were not hobbling away, assisted by others strong enough to remain on their feet after experiencing his reiatsu rain, were crawling on the grass away from him and Captain Ukitake, their inert swords forgotten on the ground. The area was clear in the next ten seconds.
"You dare intimidate my subordinates in my presence." Captain Ukitake was saying, one hand on his sword hilt. Byakuya took one step towards him; only half an arm's length separated them now. Even if there were subordinates close by, a captain's hearing is more acute. So when Byakuya spoke to the man in charge of this ruined office, it was so quiet that if eavesdroppers were standing outside eavesdropping, there would be nothing but the wind to caress their earlobes.
"Draw your sword if you must. Continue to accuse me if that satisfies you, Captain Ukitake, and we'll let the sparks fly where they will because I will not stand here and listen to you disrespecting me. You spoke from a position of ignorance about things you think you know about my household based on the authority of gossip alone." Byakuya said, his face an inscrutable mask.
Byakuya was getting ready to flash-step away from this place when it became apparent that the older man wasn't about to do anything stupid like challenge him to a fight that would get them both court marshaled by the Head Captain. But as he tensed, the white-haired man just had to say something else that burned him.
"Captain Kuchiki, I don't approve of your behavior towards my subordinates, Rukia in particular. That girl deserves happiness. She deserves better."
This ignorant vermin!
"Better?" Byakuya scoffed derisively at that. Whatever he was about to say would be arrogant; he could feel it before the words rolled over his tongue. Though he had no intention of marrying Rukia, this "captain" didn't need to understand that. Any considerations Byakuya might have extended as a courtesy between captains went flying like the roof when this man came out at him with accusations instead of conversation. It was unusual for the calm, collected, fatherly captain, to behave in this manner, and Byakuya could choose to interpret his actions as being protective of his underling. Years of experience taught him to look at a situation from all sides, not just from his emotional perspective, as much as he wanted to limit his purview in that direction. But this bastard was asking for it.
"And what does 'better' look like?" Byakuya asked the man pointedly, "You, perhaps?"
"You think I'm interested in my subordinate?" Ukitake sounded angry at his insinuation.
"No, you're too old and sickly," Byakuya said rudely, pointing out the man's infirmity. "Rukia would laugh in your face if you expressed your feelings for her or request a transfer to spare you the embarrassment of her rejection. Not so fatherly after all."
"You're delusional." Ukitake scoffed dismissively, his chest heaving with deep inhalations.
"But you don't need me to tell you that." Byakuya continued as if Ukitake hadn't spoken. "Instead, you consider other options that have your approval for Rukia. Options you can live vicariously through. How presumptuous of you! Ichigo Kurosaki? Honestly? Because he rescued her and is hailed as a bit of a celebrity in the Seireitei for his triumphs in significant battles, you sent her to the World of the Living for a little solace from the human? Why? Because the rumors say their lovers? Oh, and let us not forget Renji Abarai. Her childhood friend, secret admirer, and my lieutenant, who's trying so hard to surpass me; perhaps in another thousand years, he'll be successful. Are they what 'better' looks like because they have your stamp of approval, captain?"
"At least she can be herself around them. Can she be herself around you?" Ukitake asked with pity in his voice. "I don't see it."
Byakuya took a step closer to the man; now they were nose to nose, eyeball to eyeball. "You said Rukia deserves better, and you're quite correct. But I'm not "better," Captain Ukitake. I am the best there is. So keep your nose where it belongs, out of our business."
Ukitake's small nostrils flared. "I didn't think it was this bad with you. How jealous can you get? Pointing fingers at every man in her life. Flinging accusations around like that."
"I'll have a work crew here within the hour to clean up this mess," Byakuya gestured to the sky-view roofless office, deciding he was done with this posturing. "Don't worry about the bill."
Ignoring the other captain's decline of the work crew as he stepped away from the man's personal space, he tensed again to flash-step. "I'm throwing around accusations now, Captain? How ironic." Byakuya said before flash-stepping away from Squad Thirteen's barracks.